No Sad Songs

February 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-A story of a young man's accelerated journey of self-discovery. Gabe LoScuda is an average teen. Not popular but not a loner either, he navigates high school with his mind on basketball practice, hanging out with his best friend John, and figuring out how to ask out the prettiest girl in school. When his parents take an overnight trip to Atlantic City to celebrate their wedding anniversary, what was meant to be one evening of caring for his grandfather, who has dementia, turns into forever. Gabe wakes to a phone call that changes his life completely, finding out that his parents have died in a car accident. He is meant to care for his grandfather, but this is a full-time job that he cannot manage on his own. When his uncle insists on helping, Gabe has no other choice than to accept the offer. His uncle proves to be an alcoholic unable to watch his grandfather and becomes another person Gabe has to look after. Morelli phenomenally portrays the teen's angst and struggles. Although the subject matter is heavy at times, the author uses humor to keep the story going. Readers will be engaged with this unique novel written with chapters that alternate with Gabe's essays and memories. VERDICT This coming-of-age tale is a must for any YA collection.-Davia Schmidt, Queens Public Library, NY

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2018
After the deaths of his parents, a boy is left to care for his ill grandfather.Eighteen-year-old white teen Gabe LoScuda just wants to play video games with his buddy John Chen, a first-generation Chinese-American, and pine over a girl at school. But his life is turned upside down when his parents are killed in a car accident. Suddenly he's forced to take care of his grandfather, who's addled by Pick's disease, a form of dementia, and prone to violent outbursts. Gabe remembers his father promising never to send the old man away, so he does the same. At his parents' funeral, Gabe's estranged uncle, Nick, appears and offers to move in, proving to be more couch potato than help. In a hospital waiting room, Gabe meets Sofia, a Mexican-American tattoo artist and lover of punk music. The two build a rapport, and things begin to look up until Grandpa's unpredictable behavior puts the tenuous balance in jeopardy. And Gabe will do anything, even ruin his own future, to keep anyone from taking Grandpa away. As a character, Gabe's dynamic and real--he's fiercely loyal and an ardent fan of poetry--but everyone else falls prey to tropes. It's Gabe's dedication to his family despite the pain they cause him that elevates an otherwise predictable story.An uneven love song to the hardships of caring for ailing family. (Fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 1, 2018
Grades 9-12 Before the car accident that took away his parents, Gabe was an average kid with a penchant for baseball and a cringe-worthy awkwardness around girls. Now Gabe finds himself the sole guardian of his grandfather, who suffers from a form of Alzheimer's. Gabe's life descends into chaos, exacerbated by the sudden appearance of his father's prodigal brother, Nick. Only his best friend John Chen and a punky hospital urchin named Sofia keep Gabe going, even when his love for his grandfather threatens his own future. Morelli imbues Gabe with a strong narrative voice that shows his strength and his stubbornness. Suddenly thrust into a parenting role, Gabe ardently resists advice to commit his grandfather to a care facility, despite Gabe's inability to properly care for him. Especially poignant is Gabe's evolving relationship with his uncle Nick, a deadbeat whose checkered past only adds to Gabe's hardships. Full of heart and humor, this will make young readers take stock of their own parents' responsibilities, and what it means to make sacrifices for the ones you love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)